


Inspector Cardwell

by IronicHoodies



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Mystery, Psychological Horror, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26833825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronicHoodies/pseuds/IronicHoodies





	Inspector Cardwell

"In a simple circuit, there are two identical lightbulbs and a 10-volt battery. If there is 0.9A worth of current flowing through the circuit, what is the resistance of each bulb?"  
"Alright... Alex told me... V=IR… So this should be easy, right? 10 times 0.9… No, it would become V over I equals R for… 10 divided by 0.9… That's about 90 ohms in total, isn't it? And the problem said "of each bulb", so 90 divided by 2 is 45… 45 ohms! Now for problem #2…"  
Ten minutes pass. Nicolette looks at the timer.  
Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven. Ten. “I studied so hard last night, yet I've barely answered the last page, and I doubt if I did well on the last two… Did I really take that long on just a couple of questions? I swear to God, I'm failing! Again!”  
Nine. Eight. Seven. Her calculator dies. “I can't do this. I'm sorry, future Nicolette. Guess I’m stuck here!”  
Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. “Maths, please grow up and solve your own problems…”  
"TIME IS UP! PASS YOUR PAPERS FORWARD!"  
"Stupid back row, we have to pass our papers first..." she mumbled to herself.  
"Yo," Alex calls, looking back. "How'd you do, Nicolette?"  
"I didn't finish the last page," says Nicolette. "I guess I did relatively well… Yeah."  
"Alex!" shouts Lysandra. "What was your answer in the first problem? The easy bit?"  
"Oh, the one with the two bulbs?" she responds. "About 90 ohms. Why? What'd you get?"  
"Huh? Wait, but the problem said 'of each bulb', right? And there were two bulbs," states Nicolette. "So… You'd have to divide by two, so that's just 45 ohms, not 90. Right?"  
"No, it's a simple circuit, therefore they both have the same resistance," refutes Alex. "They both have 90 ohms of resistance. You didn't have to divide anything."  
"Can we just, like, you know, ask miss?" suggests Lysandra. "Because 90 would be the total resistance, right? The current will pass through two bulbs, so it's 45 ohms on the first and another 45 on the next. It's common sense."  
"Alright, I'll ask," Nicolette volunteers. "Miss, a question about the test," she continues, touching Ms. Anders's arm. "What's the answer to the problem with a simple circuit?"  
"...Which one?"  
“#2, first problem on the second page," Alex cuts in.  
"Ah. If I remember correctly, it's ninety ohms."  
"As I told you," Alex snarks.  
"Wait, why not 45?" goes Lysandra.  
"I will explain that when you get your test papers back. Alright, but for now, dismissed!"  
"But—"  
"The answer is 90. It simply is.”  
——January 4, 2019 2:57 p.m.——  
Friday strikes. A group of students settle down as a tall, lanky man waltzes in.  
Mr. Charron stops. "Good afternoon!" he greets.  
"Good afternoon, Mr. Charron!"  
"Well, before anything else, I'd like to distribute your reports on behalf of the headteacher, as usual. Why do you all look so sad? You're a talented class."  
"Oh no," wails Lysandra. ”My mum's gonna get mad."  
"Oh, don't worry. The idiot you're speaking to decided to take up Chinese classes, and now, my mum's gonna compare my marks in maths to my Chinese grades, even if there's feedback!" replies Anna.  
"At least you're doing semi-decently well in your foreign language class. Wanna know which idiot decided to learn Tagalog this year?" responds Alex, pointing two fingers toward the temple of her head. "Man, I should really learn more from Nicolette.”  
Nicolette ponders in confusion "Why doesn't Alex know... Why can't she accept that she's smart? She's got the best grades, and we all know she's amazin... Why doesn't she know that?"  
She continues her line of thought, when suddenly: "Nicolette Cardwell," Mr. Charron calls, wearing a slight frown on his face. “Your report.”  
"Yeah... I know, sir. I'll improve."  
"Be sure you do," he replies.  
"Hey, Nicolette! What did you get this term?" asks Eliza, repeatedly fidgeting her fingers on the gray buttons firmly sewn on her black blazer.  
"I don't even wanna know," Nicolette replies as she cringes in her seat, biting her lip. She fixes her hair, finger-combing her smooth fringe off to the side.  
"At least let me see your Filipino grades!" says Eliza as she snatches Nicolette's report. "Here, you can take a look at mine." She places hers on the table beside her.  
NAME OF STUDENT: ELIZABETH SKY  
YEAR: 9  
MATHS: "Eliza isn't doing too well, and I hope she improves. I am certain she is trying to do her best in her work. She should practice her skills in algaebra a bit more. Grade: B-. Mr. Charron.”  
Physics: "I am aware that just like the others, Eliza is struggling with the formulae given and solving word problems. She has shown great effort in asking questions, however, and I commend her for that. Mark: B. Ms. Anders."  
"B? In physics?" Nicolette questions.  
"I was amazed by that as well. I always got less than half right on my tests, you know?” Eliza chatters, resting her right knee on her desk.  
"And how do you end up with a B- in maths?"  
"I dunno either. You know I really hate maths, so I'm pretty darn surprised as well… It's all just dumb luck, I guess. Anyway, looks like those engineering courses in college aren't happening for me!”  
"I always knew you hated maths, but since when did you want to become an engineer?"  
Eliza, ignoring her question, returns Nicolette's card.  
PHYSICS: "Nicolette tries her best in applying the formulae I have taught, and she is a very attentive student. The only problem is that she finds it hard to grasp the concepts learned, though I find she takes effort in redeeming herself through her classmates. Nicolette is a good student. Mark: D. Ms. Anders."  
"Takes effort in redeeming herself through her classmates…? Huh… True, I guess, since I do ask my seatmates a lot of questions during class..."  
Nicolette walks over to the front seats of the room. "Hey, Alex, what marks did you get?"  
"Here," she replies, passing her report. "You should give me yours, too."  
History: "Alex is very participative in class, and during exams, she always goes beyond my expectations, especially in answering essay questions. Grade: A+. Mr. Griffiths.”  
Filipino: "Marunong si Alex magsalita sa Tagalog, pero kapag may kuwentong dapat babasahin, hindi niya kayang maintindihan. I want more effort from her. Marka: C+. G. Pogi.”  
Nicolette curls back her lips as she finishes reading Alex's Filipino feedback. "Only one C on the report. But everything else... A- and up. And… why'd Mr. Ibarra sign his name as 'Pogi'?"  
"How the hell do you get this good? I mean, surely you're not just born smart, right? How'd you get an A+ in Mr. Griffith's history class while I could only get as far as a B+?"  
"Nicolette, look. All that matters is, you're learning. If you're not interested in a certain subject, don’t put effort into it; if you can, drop it. Grades don't matter if you're not really learning anything in the long run."  
"Huh?" questions Nicolette. "What do you mean?"  
"You're Nicolette. So, just be you. If you prefer sports and history over sciences and whatnot, that's perfectly fine. You shouldn't have to stress yourself over something you don't like, or something that doesn't matter to you."  
"I guess you're right," sighs Nicolette, leaning with her elbow against one of the desks. "Problem is, I have no clue what I'm really interested in. History feels… I dunno, stressful, I guess. And I'm not that good at other subjects, either."  
"You look like you have something else to say," notes Alex. "Please, speak up if you do. I won't judge."  
"Uh, I do, actually…" she replies. "I mean, comparing me with everyone else, I feel dumb, y'know? Which is why I wanna be like you. A smart kid."  
"You wanna be smarter, huh…" Alex repeats. "I mean, stuff like that isn't really something you can do in a week… Besides, it's pretty vague. But I guess I'll try to help you if you really want."  
"Thanks, Alex," says Nicolette. "So... uh, what's your advice? What should I do?"  
"I can't really do what you want in a single piece of advice, but…" she pauses, arms crossed and fixing her gaze entirely on Nicolette, locking eye-to-eye. "Observing your environment is a good place to start."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Well… let's say there's a window, yeah? You pass by it every day. Suddenly you see a small crack on the window."  
"So?"  
"You're not just gonna ignore a crack on a window, are you? Even if it’s tiny."  
"True…"  
"So what are you gonna do?"  
"Find out what caused the crack in the window?"  
"Bingo," snaps Alex. "You gotta pay attention to things. Not only know, but understand what happened."  
"Huh…" goes Nicolette. "I don't quite get the gist yet, but I understand anyway."  
"You sure?" Alex smiles.  
Nicolette stammered back. "Err, yeah, ish. Well, I'll get the hang of memorising things soon… and all—"  
"Don't memorise," refutes Alex. "You're meant to know. Look at the things around you. Everything, no matter how small, exists for a reason, and is interconnected. If you see an opportunity to learn about something, seize it. If you see something that wasn't there before, investigate. Be resourceful, look up, and smile more. See things from different angles if you're stuck. Be yourself, but don't be afraid to explore. That’s the best way to improve memory and, in the long run, learning. In short, be observant."


End file.
